Chapter 6
six
. . .
Thorne
I see the headlights first, twin beams cutting through the falling snow like searchlights hunting down an escaped prisoner.
Which is exactly what they think she is—someone who needs rescuing, someone who needs to be returned to civilization.
My hands clench into fists as I stand at the window, watching their approach.
They can't have her. I'd rather burn this cabin to the ground, take her deeper into the wilderness where no one would ever find us.
Five years I've lived with the crushing weight of loss.
Five years I've existed in this purgatory of my own making.
Now I've found something worth living for, and these fuckers think they can just drive up my mountain and take her away?
Not happening. Not while I still breathe.
"Thorne?" Lila's voice comes from behind me, soft and questioning. "What's wrong?"
I turn to see her wrapped in my flannel shirt, the hem hitting mid-thigh, her hair still damp from our bath. She looks so small, so fucking perfect. So mine.
"Search party," I growl, stalking across the room to grab my coat. "Looking for you."
Her eyes widen, and I see a flash of something I can't identify. Fear? Uncertainty? It makes my gut clench.
"Go to the bedroom," I tell her, my voice leaving no room for argument. "Stay quiet. Don't come out until I say it's safe."
"But—"
"No." I grip her shoulders, gentler than I want to be when every instinct is screaming at me to lock her away where no one can find her. "No one comes near my little girl. Understand? No one takes what's mine."
She nods, her hazel eyes huge in her pale face. I kiss her hard, branding her with my mouth before I nudge her toward the hallway.
"Go."
The snowmobiles are closer now, their engines whining against the wind. I count three of them through the swirling snow. Three men coming to take what belongs to me. My blood runs hot with fury, with the primal need to defend my territory, my mate.
I step out onto the porch just as they kill their engines. They're bundled against the cold, faces partially obscured by ski masks and goggles, but I can tell they're surprised to see me. Probably expected an empty cabin they could search.
"Can I help you?" I call down, my voice rough with disuse and tightly leashed aggression.
The lead guy pushes his goggles up. A ranger, by his uniform. "Afternoon," he shouts over the wind. "We're looking for a missing hiker. Young woman, early twenties, chestnut hair. Name's Lila Mason. Her car's still at Eagle Ridge trailhead, and she never checked in at her hotel in town."
I lean against the porch rail, forcing my body to project casual disinterest instead of murderous intent. I don’t speak. Just glare at them.
The ranger exchanges a look with his companions. "Mind if we take a quick look inside? Policy when we're doing search and rescue. Could be she found shelter and is injured, unable to respond."
My jaw tightens. "I live alone."
"Won't take but a minute, sir."
One of them steps forward, boot on the first porch step, and something snaps inside me. I draw myself up to my full height, letting them see exactly what they're dealing with—six-foot-seven of mountain-hardened muscle and barely contained rage.
"I said, I live alone." Each word drops like a stone.
The ranger puts a restraining hand on his companion's shoulder. "You sure about that? Her last known coordinates put her in this general area when the storm hit."
I cross my arms, filling the doorway with my body. "You boys should head back before the snow gets worse. Roads will be impassable soon."
There's a tense moment where I think they might push it, might insist on searching my home. My hands curl into fists at my sides, my body coiling with the anticipation of violence. I'll do what I have to. I'll protect what's mine.
But then the ranger nods, clearly deciding I'm not worth the trouble. "Alright then. Sorry to bother you. If you do see anyone, or any sign of her, radio it in."
I give a curt nod, watching as they retreat to their machines.
The ranger gives me one last suspicious look before pulling his goggles down and restarting his engine.
I stand motionless on the porch until the whine of their engines fades into the distance, swallowed by the howling wind and thick snow.
Only when I'm certain they're gone do I go back inside, slamming the door behind me with enough force to rattle the windows. My heart hammers against my ribs, adrenaline and rage pumping through my veins like liquid fire.
"Lila," I call, stalking down the hallway. "They're gone."
She emerges from the bedroom, relief evident on her face. "Did they—"
I don't let her finish. Can't. The need to claim her, to erase any possibility that she might leave, overwhelms me like a fever. I grab her, pushing her up against the wall, my mouth crushing hers in a kiss that's more possession than affection.
She makes a surprised noise against my lips but doesn't push me away. Instead, her arms wind around my neck, her body softening against mine.
"Mine," I growl, lifting her so her legs wrap around my waist. "Say it."
"Yours," she gasps as I grind against her, my cock already rock hard and straining against my jeans. "Only yours, Thorne."
I carry her to the living room, too desperate to make it back to the bedroom. I need her now, need to mark her, fill her, remind her body who it belongs to. I drop to my knees on the bearskin rug in front of the fire, laying her beneath me.
"They want to take you away," I say, ripping open my jeans. "Want to steal what's mine."
Her eyes darken with desire as she watches me free my cock, already leaking at the tip. "I don't want to go," she whispers. "I want to stay here. With you."
The words inflame me further. I flip her onto her stomach, yanking my flannel shirt up to expose her perfect ass. She's already wet—I can see it glistening between her thighs—and the sight makes me wilder.
"Ass up," I command, and she complies immediately, raising her hips for me. Good girl. So fucking perfect.
I deliver a sharp smack to her left cheek, watching the pink bloom on her pale skin. She cries out—not in pain, but in pleasure.
"Who does this belong to?" I demand, spanking her again.
"You," she moans, pushing back against my hand. "It's yours, Daddy."
Christ, that word on her lips. I line myself up and thrust home in one powerful stroke, burying myself to the hilt in her tight heat. She screams, her inner walls clenching around me as she takes every inch.
"Mine to fuck,” I growl, setting a brutal pace. My hips slam against her reddened ass with each thrust, the sound of skin on skin mixing with her moans and my grunts. "Mine to keep."
I grab a fistful of her hair, pulling gently to arch her back. "Tell me who you belong to," I demand, not slowing my punishing rhythm. "Tell Daddy whose pussy this is."
"Yours!" she cries out, her body shaking with each impact. "I'm yours, Daddy, only yours!"
I spank her again, harder, watching her ass jiggle with the impact. She's so fucking responsive, so perfect for me. Made for me.
"Such a perfect, tight little hole for Daddy's seed," I praise, feeling my balls tighten with impending release. "Gonna fill you up so good. Knock you up so everyone knows you're mine."
She comes then, her pussy clamping down on my cock like a vise, her cries echoing off the cabin walls. The sensation pushes me over the edge, and I bury myself as deep as I can, unleashing jet after jet of cum inside her.
"Take it," I growl through clenched teeth, grinding against her as I empty myself. "Take every fucking drop."
I collapse over her, careful to brace my weight on my forearms so I don't crush her smaller frame. Her body trembles beneath me, aftershocks rippling through her as I stay buried inside, making sure none of my seed escapes.
When our breathing finally slows, I roll to the side, taking her with me so we lie facing the fire, my body curled protectively around hers, my softening cock still inside her.
I spread my hand over her lower belly, imagining it swollen with my child.
The thought makes my spent cock twitch with renewed interest.
"They'll be back," she says quietly, her voice small but not frightened.
I tighten my hold on her, pressing my lips to the nape of her neck. "Let them come. I won't let anyone take you from me." I slide my hand lower, between her legs, feeling where we're joined, where my cum is leaking out despite my efforts to keep it inside her. "You're where you belong now."
She sighs, a contented sound that makes my chest tighten with unfamiliar emotion. "I know," she whispers. "I'm home."
Home. The word echoes in my head, in my heart. I haven’t had a home since I lost my family. This cabin I built has been a tomb, a place to wait out my days until death finally claimed me too. But now, with Lila in my arms, it finally feels like a home. Like a beginning instead of an end.
I won't let anyone take that from me. Not again. Not ever.